Our Last Hope
by Johnnieboy11
Summary: The Human-Ethereal War, colloquially known as the Long War by those who were on the front lines, has ended with the death of the enemy's leaders aboard their own Temple Ship. For XCOM, a new mission comes:to find the lost Strike-1, their Elite Troops and return them home. For Strike-1, a new objective arises in the fields and cities of a new world, to win a new Long War.
1. Prologue:Victory

**_AN:HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE XCOM MEETS RWBY BONANZA WHERE I TRY NOT TO LOSE IT AS I HANDLE MULTIPLE CHARACTERS A-LA SPARTAN ASSAULT! Among these characters will be characters of the members of the REMCOM RP Group that I so easily frequent thanks to finding and reading DrAmishMD's XCOMxRWBY Crossovers, RWBY Within and Remnant Unknown! Shoutout to Doc for being an inspiration and to everyone on that server for being so nice as to allow me to fight and grow alongside all y'all! I'm sorry I can't include all REMCOM RP Characters, but for now? I hope this cast will be an enjoyable one._**

**_So enjoy, as our mishmash of Strike Team commanders and XOs fight together once again on Remnant's shores to combat the evil that is Salem and her Cronies! And possibly whatever else Remnant(or I) decides to throw at them._**

**_Addendum:This is based on Long War and will include elements of "The List" within it._**

* * *

**_Operation:"Broken Temple"_**

**_Location:Above Southern Atlantic Ocean, aboard the Ethereal Temple Ship_**

His powers far surpassed what even the Ethereals had expected of him. EXALT had cowered when he had deployed with Strike-1 to take them out. And now, with the singed Corpse of the Uber resting by his side, the Psionic Operative simply known as 'the Volunteer' marched toward the shimmering ball of energy that was the Gollop Device. The Alien Temple Ship began to crumble around him and Strike-1... He wanted to turn to tell them to leave, but soon saw them approaching him... A pair of striding Titans in heavy, reinforced armored plating that were their MEC Troopers, Archer Master Sergeant Marie "Vee" Victoria-Louise and Goliath Tech Sergeant Armin "Reaper" Voss...

Following them was a rather large complement soldiers, five of which were clad in the shining Powered Armor set known as the TITAN Suit. Gunner and Field Commander Peter "The General" Van Doorn stood face-to-face with the Volunteer, his stern gaze now filled with worry... Following him was Shaojie "Chilong" Zhang, a Rocketeer Major and one of XCOM's best demolition experts. The old, grizzled Chinese man watched the bodies of the Ethereals left behind by their onslaught...

Up next were Tech Sergeants Vivienne "Totem" Dupont, Dunstan "Spades" Pierce, Maria "Countess" Rovinesti and Aala Haataja. Whilst famously members of other Strike units, Covert Operatives and such, the four members had become quite closely-acquainted with one-another as they'd cooperated in many a mission beforehand. Vivienne, Dunstan and Aala were the ones lucky enough to wear the Titan armors, which they personalized to the fullest... Maria being a scout, was not lucky enough to don one, but instead she wore a standard, lighter variation of the armor.

"This place is falling apart..." Lieutenant Gillian "Robyn" Grayson mused as the ship shuddered underneath them... She, alongside Major Annette "Witchy" Durand, served as the Volunteer's supporting Psionic team. Even as the Psionic energy around them started to flow deeper into the ship, the Volunteer could feel their worry... Gill continued "Any longer and I don't think we'll be able to run!"

His head throbbed as visions of Earth's death at the hands of a black hole came. The ship's antimatter reactor was going critical thanks to the death of the Uber Ethereal and that meant it was gonna be a sudden, albeit fast death for Earth and all of her inhabitants. He couldn't let that happen, but his team was still on board... He couldn't do anything unless... He looked to Van Doorn and said "Go!"

"What?" The man furrowed his brows.

"Geist, are you crazy?" Annette's thick French accent came to him, her voice full of worry as she looked around at the Psionic tendrils about to envelop the ship.

"Annette's right!" Vivienne chimed in. "We are not going to leave you behind."

"The entire ship is gonna collapse into a black hole... Take Earth with it if I don't take control and blow it to hell..." The boy explained bluntly, staring Van Doorn in his eyes. The boy's eyes shimmered with Psionics. "With all due respect... XCOM may need you all post-war... I volunteered for this and I'm an unknown." He said solemnly, looking between his 9 compatriots... Dunstan stared at the kid from behind his gas mask and simply shook his head... The man must've been a loose cannon when he came to XCOM, but since then, he'd become one of the most respected soldiers among the team.

"Fuck that, kiddo." Maria returned promptly, shouldering her Pulse Laser Stengun. "You're staying, we're staying."

"I'm siding with the rest of the team here, Geist." Van Doorn spoke, taking the kid's attention to him as the Psionic energy of the Gollop Device sent a wave of energy through the entire vessel once more, with the team struggling to stay on their feet. To make clear his seriousness, Van Doorn cued his Microphone, then said "Big Sky, this is Strike-1-Actual... You are cleared for take-off. We're staying behind!"

"What!? _Sir, you can't be-" _Big Sky wanted to protest, but Van Doorn cut him off "I'm serious as can be... RTB. We're staying with Geist, to make sure everything goes smoothly."

... As much as the pilot that had flown them from mission to mission time and time again desired to voice his dislike for the idea, he instead chose to keep his mouth shut... Central would chew him out, but if the Field Commander gave an order... The team watched from the bridge of the Temple Ship as Skyranger left, a thundering sonic boom echoing as the aircraft entered supersonic mode...

Geist stared with eyes as wide as onions at his Commanding Officer... Van Doorn simply smirked in return, giving him a light slap on the shoulder and backing off... He nodded to Annette and Gillian, then looked to Geist and said "Do your thing, Sergeant." as he let the other two Psions join him. Annette put her hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile, with Gillian giving the boy a beaming one as well... The Operative turned toward the Gollop Device, walked up the pedestal and, as practiced with the device they'd got from the Overseer... Placed his hands around the orb...

His Vortex Armor, the most powerful of Psionic armors created by XCOM, shined a deep violet as, from the amplifiers on his back, the psi-energy coursed down through the muscle-like fiber of his arms into his palms and the device itself... Its once spherical form now started prickling, turning into what could only be described by Geist as a purple porcupine... He felt Annette and Gill's Psionics enter the device as well...

_We got your back, Geist... _Gill thought toward him, a warm smile on her face still.

_Oui... And we won't let anything get to you. _Annette added, grinning.

The Psionic pulsing intensified as the ship began to shake violently... Geist slowly threaded his way into what felt like the ship's own consciousness. It was not an AI, it was not human, but rather... Definitely Alien, Ethereal even. He heard a dozen voices talk to him at once, distant and hushed. Most strongly and loudly, he heard Gillian and Annette's voices... He stayed as calm as he could, even as his headache grew... He delved into the ship's systems, finding semi-biological and Psionic components even there. His search led him down many a path, until he located it...

The Reactor Core. It blared a scarlet light at him, yelling, screaming and kicking... Using his friends' backup, with Gillian's 'Empathy', a strange power in and of itself, Geist worked to soothe the Bio-machine that hollered at him to get out, caressing its head, petting it... He felt the ship under his feet slowly stabilize and found no other Ethereals out to hound him, either from Gill and Annette's intervention, or from them being dead...

He soothed the ship's core, but it warned him... And as his eyes blasted open, he felt the Gollop Device start to heat at its core. He looked to the French woman that had served as his mother and teacher for the better part of his life as a Psion and then, at the other motherly figure, the Italian woman that worked tirelessly to keep him and the others of her squad safe... Both smiled at him, their eyes ablaze with a purple flame... He nodded, pressing his lips together, before all three brought their hands together...

The ball of energy began to shrink, slowly, but steadily... And as the ship shuddered one last time, signaling the now-calm reactor's return to optimal levels, Geist felt another prickle through his spine and another vision of Earth's heat death... And lost his grip willingly. The ball of Psionic energy contained within the Gollop Device's amplifiers expanded outward, swallowing the entire team in a wave of psychic feedback, before collapsing back in on itself and forming, yet again, into that blob of lilac that was contained...

_Back at HQ..._

... Central Officer Bradford had ordered the scramble of every available bird to intercept an incoming tidal wave of Alien Assault Ships. He himself had fought on the Front Line within Mission Control, with only his Magnetically-enhanced sidearm, against the horde of enemies that flooded the base... He watched and listened as the alien creatures screamed in unison, before they collapsed on the floor, dead...

He'd taken down six Sectoids, a Sectoid Commander and three Mutons by himself... And now all other creatures, under fire by Base-Sec and other XCOM Operatives still on-base, had fallen over. The man looked to Doctor Vahlen and asked "Status! What the hell just happened?"

"... I'm looking into it now, Central..." She said as she read and reread the data, eyes wide. "The Alien Ship... It transmitted a 'Kill' command on the Hyperwave Network." She mused, walking with eyes wide toward an Alien, one of the big burly ones known as Mutons to the troops... She knelt beside it, drawing a scanner and waving it over the creature... "It's got nominal life-signs... It's still alive, but it..." She scanned its brain and gasped "... It is..."

"What?" Bradford asked, stepping up beside her as she stood to her feet...

"... For lack of a better explanation, it's... Braindead. All of them are." She looked down the corridor filled with aliens, both dead and alive. She turned to Bradford, then said "I think Strike-1 just finished it..."

Bradford paused for a moment, thinking over the implications... Before his mind raced again and he looked to one of the Base Techs. With conviction, he ordered "Radio Strike-1 Actual, now!" before putting his headset back on. The Base Tec gave the Okay to Bradford to speak and so the man did, with worry prevalent in his voice "Strike-1 Actual, this is Central. HQ is secure. Status report..."

Nothing... Once again, Central asked "Actual, repeat, this is Central. The Anthill is clear... Whatever you did just saved us... What's your status?"

... And yet again, nothing... "God dammit, Pete, answer me, man! Status report!" He partially begged as a heavy atmosphere settled in Mission Control...

... "Bradford...?" Vahlen walked up to him, brows raised and mouth agape. She extended her tablet and Central skimmed over the readings... One singular Psionic burst that contained the 'Killswitch' command flew on a high bandwidth through the Hyperwave Relay that was on the ship, disabling about every alien unit and craft in the sky in one swoop... But at the same time as that burst, Strike-1's vitals went... Offline? Not flatlined?

"They didn't Flatline..." Central murmured, staring at the readings with disbelief

"They just disconnected..." Vahlen stated, bemused "Most curious..."

"... Doctor, tell me what you think happened... In detail if you have any theory that may just seem plausible to you at this moment. It may help us bring them home..." Central spoke... If their vitals did not flatline during that burst, but instead just went offline, something must've gone either horribly wrong or... Extremely right. Eitherway, there was still a high hope of the best of Earth's saviors being alive. And the Ethereals and their armies be damned if Central was gonna have any sort of victory celebration without his best there.

XCOM had faced extinction at the start of 2015, when an Alien armada descended upon the Earth with countless ships and troops, poised to enslave or destroy Humanity as a whole. Two years of arduous fighting and many lost, both within the organization and among the population of Earth... And Humanity prevailed. But even so, John Bradford, Central Officer for the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit, with the victory before him assured, still had one last job now. And if the Council would allow him to do it, he would... He would bring back XCOM's finest. Bring them home... And make sure they were welcomed as heroes...

... Whilst they, he hoped, stayed safe... And fought as they usually had, wherever they were now.

They would be found... That was a promise Bradford would keep.


	2. The Drop Part 1:A Maiden and A Village

The sky was clouded, dark... Geist's lilac eyes fluttered open. The boy was on his back. He was still breathing. And he felt _all _kinds of sore. Slowly, leaning against one of the many trees surrounding him, the boy stood to his feet. A sweeping gaze went over his surroundings. Trees in every direction. Sighing deeply, the boy stretched, to clear the numbness and soreness in his muscles, before pressing his lips together as he thought which way he'd have to go. Upon deciding on a path, he started to walk... The trees looked like normal ones, so something told him this place, as unfamiliar as it was, was probably going to be more familiar as he explored it.

His arrival here probably hadn't gone unnoticed... And going by the fact that his team wasn't around, he had to hazard a guess... He closed his eyes, focusing his Psionics... And on that familiar tuning of his mind, he thought to his friends _Sergeant Grayson... Are you there? Annette, can you hear me? _before waiting for an answer. None came, so he decided to try again. And once more, nothing...

He cued his earpiece and spoke "Actual, this is 4... Do you copy?" calmly. He saw something move in the corner of his eye and his Psionics spiked slightly. In the back of his head, he moreso _felt _an approaching danger. He once again spoke through the com piece "Strike-1-Actual, or any members of the Strike team, this is 4... Can anyone hear me?" while looking around and using his Psionics to materialize his Plasma pistol... He was starting to think he was alone...

Swiveling about as he heard a loud growl, the boy brought his pistol to bear on the face of a creature with a black mane and bone plating on its head. Two plasma rounds struck it in the mouth and chest, effectively killing it. Its corpse started to dissolve into a dark mist, but its form clearly wasn't of any known animal or Alien monstrosity. He holstered his pistol, before using his Psionics once more, to scan his surroundings...

He heard echoes, faint, of human minds on his 12 o'clock. Struggling...

He elected to go on forth, using his gene-enhanced legs as he sprinted toward the area. And upon coming to the edge of the forest, he caught a glimpse of three people ganging up on one girl. Two girls and one guy versus that same, tanned girl. And going by what his Psionics told him, whatever faint glimpses of their thoughts he could get, the girl was randomly attacked... He felt a faint Psionic presence, locking his gaze onto a green-haired, dark-skinned girl...

Take her out first...

He powered his Psi-amps, his helmet appearing atop his head. A ball of energy formed in his left palm and he aimed it... Then 'shot'. The lilac tendril extended and struck the girl's head, to which the boy gasped as he watched what looked like a faint field of energy, colored similar to her hair, burst and vanish. The girl collapsed to the floor with a scream, gripping her head and with tears welling in her eyes.

Geist couldn't feel sorry for her. He felt what they wanted to do to this girl... Called 'The Fall Maiden' in their thoughts. He watched as the grey-wearing, chrome-haired boy stopped and turned to Emerald. And as the Psion charged forward, he cocked back his enhanced fist and delivered a haymaker right to the back of the boy's head, sending a wave of energy coursing through his body... His own 'energy field' collapsed as he fell down, unconscious...

He turned to the leading, black-haired woman, before sending a psycho-kinetic tendril to grab her arm. The arrow she was about to fire into the Fall Maiden flew high. He dragged her toward him, before grabbing her by the throat, lifting her up. Bug-eyed, the woman stared at the young man clad in what looked like sinew and muscle in the form of armor and could _feel _the energy flowing through him.

She kicked off of him, her bow turning into a pair of twin swords as she took a combat stance, coughing. "Who the hell are you!?"

"Just a passer-by." He said nonchalantly, turning to the wounded girl on the floor. Awed as she was, she managed to stand up, leaning on her strange staff. He turned back to the attacker, then warned "Unless you want what happened to your compatriots to happen to you, I'd suggest you leave now..." And he let his powers flow into his palms, flaring "Before things get ugly."

"You think I'm scared of you?" She growled.

Geist shook his head, then stepped aside, to reveal the two aides of hers still writhing on the floor, with the emerald-haired girl screaming her lungs out. The aggressor's facade suddenly dropped, from one of strength, to one of actual fear as she saw the kid's psionics coursing through his body. She scowled, then charged him. He simply raised his hand and a part of his Psionic energy lanced forward in a kinetic shock wave, that sent the woman flying backward. Her own energy field flared as she staggered to her feet...

An arrow flew toward Geist's head. He caught it out of mid-air, before tossing it aside and drawing his Plasma Pistol. He aimed straight for the woman's head... And again, two aqueous rounds of high-output, focused Plasma washed his target with extreme prejudice. One round struck her face, while the other burned her right arm. She screamed, staggering as her shield vanished. She held on to her face and stared at him, fearful, with her good eye.

"Leave." He warned once more... The woman ran... And her aides, one of which still screamed bloody murder, left the combat arena. They'd run, while Geist went to check on the Fall Maiden. He helped her to her feet, then asked "You okay?" and received a nod.

He didn't know if it was fear or something else, but she was looking at him with the widest eyes he'd seen since the first Civilian he'd rescued.

His helmet once again disappeared off of his head, revealing an average-looking young man, whose only discerningly different features were the grey hair and the two purple eyes. Otherwise, he was just a normal-looking guy. And that seemed to be the most awe-striking thing to the Fall Maiden... So, to bring her back to her comfort zone, he said "I'm Geist... What's your name?"

"... Amber..." The girl answered in a murmur "H-How can you be so nonchalant about... That?" She pointed at the way their enemies had run.

"... What do you mean?" He crossed his arms.

"You... You basically just disabled their Auras." The woman murmured. "How?"

"... 'Auras'?" Geist looked bemused. He heard another pair of footsteps appear, drawing his pistol and aiming it at the approaching unknown, until an elder man with red eyes and black and grey hair appeared. He was wearing a cape and a strange costume and on his back, was what looked like a retractable sword. He raised his hands in defense, but Amber was quicker, grabbing onto and pushing down the boy's hand and, by extension, gun.

"Easy does it, Geist." She said "This guy's a friend..."

"... Right... Hello." Geist waved... And the old man waved back.

"Uh... Amber?" He started, his voice gruff "Who the hell's this guy?" before lowering his hands. Amber shrugged...

"Said his name's Geist and... Well, he basically RKO'd my attackers. Not sure how." Amber noted. "He used some kind of power of his to burn through their Auras instantly." and both watched as the man's expression switched from surprise to utter shock. He raised his hand and showed them to wait a second, before pulling out what looked like a strange smartphone and calling... Someone...

Geist and Amber exchanged looks of confusion...

What was going on?

* * *

**_... Somewhere else..._**

Whereas Geist had awoken somewhere cloudy and unusually silent, the wakeup for Vivienne, Aala and one of their two MECs was surprisingly wrought with screams, gunfire and the roar of beasts... As Viv stood to her feet, readying her weapon, she watched her HUD flare with diagnostics and warnings about missing the link to XCOM HQ and their satellite network. It instead reverted to its 'offline' form, which showed only the local information of XCOM personnel present around. Among which, Aala herself, now staggering to her feet...

"Oh _naida..._" The Finnish doctor swore, shaking off the concussion from a hard impact with the ground. "I'm never letting Geist send us travelling again..."

"... Well, at least I know you're okay." Vivienne mused, smirking as she went to help her friend, with screams echoing in the distance... She looked around at the small town they were in. The buildings were either ablaze or collapsed and the people ran down the main street. Away from what, Viv didn't know... She gazed back to the sight of Marie, who was on her feet and with helmet on, before asking "Marie... What do you have for me?"

"_Lots and lots of people running and screaming... Don't know what from, though." _The MEC spoke, her voice filtered by the helmet. Vivienne drew her own heavily-modified Pulse Rifle. Aala had her Carbine at the ready, checking her belt to find her Medikits still present, as well as a bunch of rechargeable batteries for her weapon. Aala bumped her elbow into Vivienne's shoulder...

Viv turned, to be greeted by the sight of armed bandits...

"Of course... Vee, turn around." The Swiss woman growled as the MEC's feet stomped. Its sensor suite soon picked up the targets... Troops clad in ragged clothes, with makeshift rifles and some tattoos, resembling the bandits from some of those post-apocalyptic movies Aala was so fond of. And they were harassing the population, hurting one too many civilians... The Operatives' blood boiled...

"_Can I shoot?" _She said with one of the most excited tones both the Finn and the Swiss had ever heard a MEC speak...

Aala and Vivienne exchanged glances, then looked at the Austrian robot warrior... And they nodded with poker faces on. With a grin on her face, Vee aimed the massive, bulky Magnetic Accelerator at the squad of bandits that had just walked into line of sight. She made sure via a sensor sweep that there were no civilians in the line of fire, aimed well... And pressed the trigger.

The projectile screamed out from the Railgun's magnets and, as it struck, it turned the first Bandit in the line of fire to mist, before embedding itself in the ground. Vivienne and Aala soon engaged... Twin lances of scarlet energy burned through the heavy air. One laced the chest of a bastard with a single slash and another drilled a neat hole into the head of a Bandit that just caught sight of those who were engaging them...

"Good shooting! Let's go!" Viv complimented, before picking up and running into cover.

Aala trailed behind her, weapon at the ready. The MEC's stomps muffled any of the gunfire that the crew of thieves and murderers brought to bear and the bullets harmlessly pinged off her armor as she moved in. Vee simply grinned as she stomped toward them, Kinetic Strike Module ready and waiting to punch someone to death... A woman in scarlet armor appeared ahead of her and tried to slash for her head with what looked like a long, red sword, but the blade broke off the Alloy armor.

Viv looked back to the Civilians and waved those who turned to look away, before turning to see their MEC engaged by what looked like a female Samurai with the 'Edge' complex. The Swiss woman rolled her eyes, then said "We've got issues, Aala." before aiming down the advanced scope of her rifle... She sent a burst toward the Samurai Girl, forcing her to bring up her weapon in defense... The blade split off the pulsating light beam into two. One vivisected one of her soldiers and the other burned a hole into the pavement...

"Holy shit..." Aala murmured as she approached Viv.

"... I don't think she was supposed to be able to do that..." The Swiss woman mused...

The Sword Fighter raised her hand and her squadron of Bandits stopped... She watched as the two almost-entirely-human operatives approach. Viv's shining red Titan armor was probably a glaringly different armor set to most you'd normally see... She cued her Mic as she saw Vee was about to pummel Sword Girl into the ground and spoke "Easy, Vee... I think she wants to talk to us."

An audible sigh of disappointment came as an answer... She saw the MEC lower her rifle, pouting at them as they walked.

The woman in red spoke "I take it this... Tank... Is your friend?" tilting her head to the MECT.

"She's our MEC Trooper, yes." Viv answered, glaring at the woman from behind her own helmet's visor. The Samurai wore an almost demon-like white mask with red writing and other weird crap on it. She then snarked "I take it you're the head of this little raiding party?" before leaning her Pulse Rifle on her shoulder. "Not much of an organized fighting force."

"Take it you kids are Atlas." The woman returned with just as much snark "Only they would be crazy enough to come dressed in bright colored chrome armors."

"Never heard of 'Atlas' before. Some kind of PMC?"

The samurai snorted "PMC? They're the biggest damn military around the place."

"No, that would be a whole other army entirely." Vivienne returned, bemused "So who's Atlas anyways?"

"Kingdom? Up North?" The Samurai chuckled "Were you living under a rock for the better part of your life?"

... "No."

This was a bit concerning, but oh, well... "Are you gonna surrender peacefully?" The Swiss inquired, then tilted her head and spoke threateningly "Or are we gonna have to sic Vee on you?" And an audible, deranged giggle came from the MEC as she slammed her metallic fists together, almost asking for the Samurai to say she's willing to fight. Viv grinned, before saying "She's probably been waiting to punch someone across the place for a while now..."

The armored, rocket-powered fist on the MEC's right arm told the Samurai as much...

"I'm gonna say neither..." The woman drew her sword, with Viv and Aala readying their Pulse Rifles... But before they could fire or the woman could attack, the MEC-T's fist roared as its rocket engines kicked it forward... The servos strained under pressure, but the strike was a _glorious _one, sending the woman flying sky-high... Vivienne and Aala proceeded to waste the squadron of dumbfound Bandits with Pulse Lasers.

Aala watched the arching Bandit Leader with a grin and, as she landed between the Trees, the Finn chuckled and said "315 meters. That's gotta be some kind of new record."

"_Happy to provide entertainment, Spurdoc." _Vee grinned.

Aala glared back at the MEC, inches short of starting a tirade in Finnish, before Viv stopped her, a grin on her face. Swiss Lady sighed, then looked back, to see an approaching man, wounded in the right shoulder. He smiled at them... Vivienne removed her helmet, to reveal dark-brown hair and blue eyes. She motioned to Aala to go help him and the Finn did as told...

... A slew of questions would follow...


	3. The Drop Part 2:Something odd

**_AN:A great thanks to the creator of the Visual Novel JPDE, Meinos Kaen, for bringing to this world such amazing characters as the two who are about to be introduced today:Evelyn Damerot and Jacqueline B. Ivory! Enjoy a glimpse of what's to come for our dear boy, Geist, folks!_**

Van Doorn thanked the Great Almighty he still had his life... The events that occurred in the last 24 hours alone would've made one question their sanity, but the former General, turned XCOM's Field Commander, always was a beacon of stability. A Bulwark in the face of the hell raised by the Aliens and EXALT alike. He was at the forefront of every major battle, every assault on Alien bases since the start of the war and, hell, he was around when his brother, Iago, was discovered as EXALT's commander... And when he put a magnetic round between the man's eyes...

Yet today was just getting _weirder. _The Field Commander, slowly staggering to his feet after awakening from their unceremonious transition back to realspace and whatever forest they were in, scanned their surroundings, to see Armin and Zhang had taken up defensive positions, the barrels of their weapons emanating a trail of blueish-grey smoke. Add to that that several trees were cinders or downright uprooted by the firefight that ensued and Peter was half-questioning how much ammo was spent...

He checked the floor, only stopping to pick up his Plasma Dragoon. The heavy repeating Plasma weapon made for one helluva heavy gun, honestly, but at least it provided good suppression fire wherever it was needed... And if it hit, it could _probably _tear you a new couple of holes... Or, you know, vaporize you.

Zhang was a standing wall of Chinese muscle mass and very good aim. The Plasma Blaster tube on his back hummed an eerie hum, his grey Titan Armor was dirty at the boots and his crew-cut silver hair had strands of red running through it... Blood?

Meanwhile, the MEC Trooper, clad in his MEC-6 armor set, scanned the surroundings, his massive Particle Beam Cannon pointing outward... The Armor set had symbols of one of the old German Knighthoods on it. The _Balkenkreuz, _black cross of the Teutonic Order, resided in the standard shield emblem on the suit's right chest pad and on the shoulder opposite to it... On his back were a Grenade Launcher and a Restorative Mist device, while his arm had, bolted onto it, a Flame Thrower filled with Elerium-reinforced fuel.

"Status report..." Van Doorn immediately started, shouldering his weapon and scanning the treeline.

Zhang hummed "Aside from us slamming hard into the ground when we woke up, Field Commander... Nothing much. How are you?"

"I should be asking you that, Shao. Top of your head looks messy..." The man hummed, receiving a chortle from from the Chinese operative. Movement in the treelines kept them sharp. Black, shadowy, disfigured animal silhouettes from the looks of things. Moving fast and hard around them, probably trying to pick an opportune spot to hit them from. Van Doorn cocked his head to the right, to see another area of the forest that had burned down thanks to sustained Plasma fire.

"Yeah, well, these things come in all shapes and sizes, Pete... One of them was a bird that nearly poked my skull open." Shaojie quipped, checking his ammo counter. He looked to their FC and reported "I'm down to three and a half batteries of Plasma rounds and Armin has about half a dozen shots left from his particle cannon. They are really keen on killing us, these monstrosities..."

"When isn't something we've faced keen to kill us, Shao... Eyes open and be ready to shoot to kill." Van Doorn offered a brief, calm return to form by thumbing the safety off his Dragoon. The weapon whirred happily in his arms, ready to chomp the face off of anything that came their way. He eyed down the weapon's digital scope, attached to the holographic screen on the side, wrapping his finger around the weapon's trigger and falling back into a comfortable state of mind. Shoot to kill, ask questions never...

He watched two of those creatures turn toward them. Black-maned, with bone plate and spikes sticking out of their backs, they resembled grotesque variations of wolves and lizards. The smaller ones were faster than their taller, lankier, wolf-like cousins. They'd get cut down all the same by Van Doorn's weapon. His finger twitched around the trigger, but he was ready...

As ready as he could've been, anyways. Until a stream of bullets decided that those creatures weren't good targets for a volley of plasma. The plates broke under the wave of rounds and the roar of a revved-up chain-gun echoed. A figure appeared in front of Peter, clad in torn blue jeans, a black jacket and a grey undershirt. She had fingerless biker gloves on her hands and on one arm was a mounted exoskeleton, small enough to be unnoticeable at first glance to an untrained eye...

The blonde fighter took a combative stance, bringing one foot back and another forth, her fists up to shoulder length and one hand slightly extended forward. She looked back, a pair of piercing blue eyes locking onto the elite XCOM Operatives. She raised a brow at them, before smirking and turning back to the Grimm. She cracked her knuckles, then said "Alright, lads... I don't know who the hell you three are, but I could see the fireworks display from a mile... Care to help me?"

"... If you can answer some questions after..." Van Doorn noted, going beside her and readying his weapon. He was joined by Shaojie and Armin moments later...

"Jeez... That's a big friend you two got there..." She quipped.

"He pulls his weight..." Shaojie joked.

"Bet he does... Now... Mind answering my question first?"

"Sure." Van Doorn shrugged.

"Who are you three anyways? Gear like that? I've only seen it in Atlas... Not even." The girl mused, readying herself as more Grimm approached.

"We're XCOM... And I don't think we've heard of Atlas before, so I'll assume we aren't in Kansas anymore..." Van Doorn mused, keeping his eyes locked on the enemy. The girl chuckled.

"Whatever that means, no, pal, no you aren't." She noted. "Those things? They're called Grimm... Monsters that feed off of man's negative emotions, to give them a quick rundown. The fact that you three managed to keep them at bay means that, either they know they can't engage you up-close, or they're waiting for reinforcements to arrive. Eitherway... We really should be killing them and getting you out."

"Heh. I like your moxie..." Shaojie quipped "I'm Shaojie Zhang. Major in XCOM."

"Jacqueline B. Ivory, though most people just call me Jack..." She answered, giving a nod to Shaojie and looking to Peter.

"Peter Van Doorn. Field Commander. That behind us is Armin. He's our MEC." The Commander readied his weapon. "Now... Miss Ivory. Shall we?"

"Yes. Let's... Hey! Pseudo-Flea Bags! C'mon then!" She taunted the creatures. A dozen more broke off, bull-rushing right toward them as the soldiers' weapons whirred, powering. Jack raised her armored fist, readying the strange weapon she had and powering it. The Gatling Gun wrapped around her wrist and below her arm, powering on and revving up.

And as the first Grimm got close enough, Van Doorn ordered "Blast'em!" as he squeezed the trigger. The weapon's barrel glowed and emerald fire spat out of the Dragoon, washing the area ahead in flames, while Jack's weapon took care of whatever managed to survive. Shaojie's Plasma Carbine whirred, sputtered and blasted away at Grimm trying to outflank them and Armin's grenade launcher spun and thundered, plasma grenades landing in the thick of the crowd of Grimm now trying to assault them from all sides. Fiery green explosions shattered the lines while the MEC readied its main weapon for a shot.

"You three really stirred the freaking nest here!" Jack noted, spinning about and forming a third arc of fire behind them and the MEC as a dozen Grimm tried to follow in the wakes of their brothers acting as distractions. Armin ceased fire with his GL, instead spinning about and bringing his Flamer to bear to assist Jack. The nozzle sputtered and burned as a tongue of orange-green fire barreled forth, into the horde, burning them alive.

"Well, not our fault exactly, is it?! These things really like us!" Van Doorn quipped.

"Pfft... Yeah, they sure do!" Jack rammed her fist into one's chin, sending it tumbling into its brothers. She spun about and delivered a roundhouse right into the side of another and pumped another series of rounds from her Gatling gauntlet into it. She watched as the weapons used by her newfound temporary allies belched hot plasma toward the enemy creatures, melting them in a shower of green...

She heard a howl from afar, then swore "Damn! We got a Beowolf Alpha! It's probably got a bone to pick with you and it's brought its pack!"

"Where is it!?" Van Doorn asked.

Jack scanned the horizon, only to see a tall, lanky figure sat in the far distance, roaring at them. It had more armor than its other brothers, including a ribcage that was covered by plating and arms shielded by it. She tapped Van Doorn's shoulder, then pointed and said "There! That big bastard!" before pausing as she saw Peter take his eyes off the advancing horde, sweeping the area ahead with his weapon while looking to Shaojie. One nod was all the man needed to understand and a grin plastered on his face. The girl watched the tall, burly Chinese man holster his carbine, only to remove a larger weapon off his back. Its rear extended outward, revealing coolant lines and coils of emerald that radiated heat.

She gasped, watching the man shoulder the weapon, looking down the sight for it. Shao locked the Beowolf Alpha, then asked "Boss, you sure!? This is our only charge!"

"Take the damn thing out! We'll find a way to recharge the Blaster later!"

"And there won't be a later if we don't get outta here." Jack murmured to herself beside Van Doorn. She turned her weapon again, toward a Beowolf, but gasped upon hearing a loud whine. She cocked her head, to see a massive ball of Plasma hurtling toward its target, weaving in-between the trees and dodging other Grimm to reach the target tagged by Shaojie... And in a wave of energy that kicked up dust and burned trees, the explosion of the warhead in the Blaster bomb vaporized the Grimm it was targeted at with extreme prejudice, as well as any that stood beside it.

And with Van Doorn expending another half of a plasma battery to wipe out the last remnants of Grimm in the area, the team finally found room to breathe. Van Doorn turned to Shaojie, then pulled, off of his belt, a medical kit, tossing it to the man. He quipped "Spray it on your head. God knows you'll probably need it." before turning to Jack. She gave them a smile, with Van Doorn smiling back. He offered a hand to Jack, then said "Thanks for the quick response..."

"No problem." She shook Van Doorn's hand. "So... You got some questions, right?"

* * *

Annette groaned aloud, rubbing her eyes as she woke up. She tasted copper in her mouth and was sure as _merde _that she was still alive. The sky above, however, was a clear blue, with a burning-hot sun letting its rays strike her face. She blinked, turning away from the sun, then groaned, turning over onto her stomach and pausing. Below her, orange sand and in front of her, dunes thereof. She coughed, then called out "Anyone alive!?" in a raspy voice.

"Yes!" Maria's voice bellowed. "My everything _fucking hurts _though..."

Annette pushed herself into a seated position, scanning her surroundings. She soon saw her three other comrades laying, either face-down, ass up in the sand, or just awaking. With a grunt, the woman stood to her feet and picked up her Plasma Rifle from the side, slinging it on her back. She stretched with a grunt, then went to help up her comrades, of which Dunstan had somehow perfectly stuck the landing like an ostrich, his head shoved under a metric tonne of sand... God, she hoped he was alive.

She helped Maria to her feet, then said "Go get Gill... I got your boyfriend..." in a quip, patting her Romanian friend's shoulders.

"Sure..." Maria nodded, shaking off the sand from her hair. "Fuck me, never again will I let Geist snap me out of existence..."

Annette chuckled "It could've been worse, Maria..." As she removed Dunstan's head from the sandy grave he dug for himself. The man coughed out a stream of said sand, then groaned and rubbed his head. The woman dug a bit deeper, removing his gas mask and helmet and handing them to him, before saying "Next time, don't lose them." With a smile. He nodded, squinting at Annette...

"Did anyone get the number of the fucking psi-Bus?" He joked, standing to his feet and cleaning out his mask. It garnered a chuckle out of Maria as she picked up the team Empath, dusting her off and handing her her weapon. Dunstan grabbed his own weapon off the floor, looking over it to make sure it didn't get damaged. Mag weapons had a tendency to gather dust quite quickly.

"Sadly, nope..." Gillian groaned, rubbing her eyes. "Thank you, Maria..."

"My pleasure, Robyn." The Romanian gave a nod, then looked to Annette "Any idea where we are, Annette?"

"Not the foggiest right now..." Sighed the Frenchwoman. She gazed around from the top of the dune they were on, shielding her eyes from the burning light of the sun. She paused, eyes locking onto a series of tracks in the sand. With a smile, she said "However, there's a way to orient ourselves... Tracks, up ahead."

"Good eye. So we follow those." Gillian offered.

"Yeah... Let's go."

An hour of walking had taken its toll on the XCOM Operatives taking a stroll down the little 'road' in the dunes. The sun at midday was a harsh, commanding presence to them, burning brightly. Draped in sweat from head-to-toe, the XCOM Squad marched. Annette could feel the heat quite literally pressing down on her shoulders, her armor a magnet for the sun rays thanks to its darker color. She swore something fierce in murmured French, while Maria whispered to herself a prayer in Romanian. Dunstan was also keen on swearing, but far more loudly, in Dutch... And Gillian, out of all of them, seemed the most calm.

To be fair, the squad was ready to give up for a moment. But a feeling, an almost too faint feeling of a burn in the back of their heads kept them on their toes. Gillian cocked her head slightly back, taking a peek at what was coming behind them, only to see the weirdest combination of colors. Acid green on pink, on a patchy suit with a hat with the same color scheme, as well as... A white rabbit's ear? And double irises?

"Guys..." Gillian started, hand twitching by her Handgun's holster latch. The others immediately turned, rifles and shotguns drawn, aimed right for the girl walking toward them. A chuckle escaped the tailing tailor's lips as she stepped up, raising both hands to show she was harmless as she stepped forward. Behind her, the team now saw them... An armored truck carrying people on it. And another. And another. All appeared over the dunes and all were armed with heavy machine guns.

"Yo! You guys and gals look like you'll need a ride!" The Mad Hatter-looking girl quipped, approaching the XCOM Fireteam. Neither Gillian, nor Annette could get a bead on what she was thinking, but they did catch a glimpse of pain in her eyes. Stopping about 10 feet from Gillian, she showed the convoy behind her to hold too, before looking back to them. "You guys aren't bandits... Right?"

"... _Non...? _No, we are not..." Annette said, stepping forth. She pushed Dunstan's shotgun down, slinging her own rifle on her back and saying "I'm Annette Durand. A Major... And this is my team."

"Ooh, so you're Atlas? That would explain the gear!" The girl smirked.

"Uh... Nope." Maria mused, poking her head out from behind Annette. She looked to her Major friend, a raised brow, to which Annette herself shrugged. Maria winced, turning to the short-haired Mad Hatter. The girl seemed to be _observing _them and she was clearly starting to put two and two together. She had, in fact, done so relatively quickly, as her face morphed from playful joy to surprise.

"Holy shit..." Evelyn murmured. "... You guys are..."

All of them paused, raising brows at her.

"I... Uhm... Hey, I'm Evelyn Damerot and... You guys are _already _scaring me. I... You may wanna follow me over to Shade Academy right now. I need to report to someone."

For all the first creepy impressions she gave... The girl seemed docile now...

... Why didn't any of them like this?

* * *

Geist watched Amber's guardian... Qrow, that was what she called him... Talking on his Cell Phone, presumably to their boss. In the interest of spending the least amount of time wondering what was going on, he had thought of trying to get into the man's mind, but that wouldn't have benefited everyone. The few glimpses the boy had gotten of an Aura user's powers conflicting with his own were frightening enough, especially if he was to use them on possible allies instead of targets like that Cinder Fall woman and her cronies. He had barely any intel on where he was, barely any data on who these people were and nothing on why they wanted to harm Amber.

He turned to the girl he'd rescued, then asked "Are you okay?"

"I'm... I am okay, yes, just... A tad surprised." She admitted, rubbing the back of her neck. "Thank you, Geist, it was fairly brave of you to jump into a battle against trained hunters just for me. I owe you a great debt."

"You don't owe me anything. I just did what I was taught." He shrugged. She smiled, a healthy flush on her cheeks as she hid her face behind her cape. Hearing footsteps, the young man turned his gaze to Qrow, then asked "Something happened?" upon noticing a more gloomy look on his face. He sighed, then shook his head and looked between the two children he now cared for.

"So... Your name's Geist?" Qrow spoke as they started walking opposite the way the attackers had come from. Geist's Plasma Sniper was stowed on his back and he'd keep it there, just in case he needed it, but right now? Right now he needed answers. And a lot of them. Answers he'd get from both Qrow and Amber, were he so lucky that they'd repay their favor.

"Yes." He simply responded, eyeing Qrow.

"_Just _Geist?" The man asked, a brow raised at the young man. Amber knew how to make friends. And weirdly powerful ones at that. He had witnessed the end of the battle between the boy and her assailants and he seemed to have. Somehow disabled their Auras in one fell blow. IF he had indeed managed that, the boy was quite possibly the most terrifying thing to currently walk the planet, second only to Salem. And yet... He looked the part of an average teenager.

With a deep sigh, the boy explained calmly "... It's the nickname I was given by my comrades, as they didn't know my name. And it's quite fitting, considering it's what I am." as he checked his Plasma handgun. He'd also probably get asked about his energy-based weaponry, but that was a matter for another time. He'd also need batteries for the damn things, taking into consideration he was probably _nowhere _near home.

"Oh?" Another quirk of the brow from Amber, who now saw fit to join the convo.

"I'm very much a ghost... Well, something akin to it. No memory of the past, no records of any kind to be found... It's as if I just spawned out of thin air." He shrugged. It had, indeed, been mysterious circumstances that brought him into the care of XCOM. His past life was as faint to him as any of his memories prior to awakening in the Alien base in India.

"Do you not remember your past? Your name, your parents, home even? Anything before you met your comrades?" She asked again, partially surprised, but mostly sad for the boy. What had transpired, neither he nor his team knew. It was down to the Ethereals to tell him what happened, though that would be a hell of a long while, considering those bastards died with their Temple ship.

"Afraid not." He shook his head.

"Damn... Sorry, kid." Qrow sighed.

"It's fine. No matter my old life... I have a new one now. One with my friends... Speaking of, we should find them. They're bound to be nearby." He offered, a spark of hope in his eyes as he remembered his powers and his links. To Annette, to Gillian and to Vivienne. Those three had proven to be the most pivotal in teaching him his role as a Psionic soldier for XCOM's Psi-Corps.

"There's more people around?" Qrow looked to him, surprised.

"I... Hope there are. Otherwise, I may need to go in search of them." The boy admitted openly. He and his entire team had warped here, after all...

"We'll help... Can't exactly head out to Beacon now, after all. Too high a chance Amber's attackers would just follow us back. Speaking of... Amber?" Qrow looked to the girl now, raising a brow. She was about to either be killed or stripped of her powers. Or, worse than that, both. The Soldier gazed around, powering his Psionics in the search for his beloved comrades.

"Yes?" She looked to Qrow. The man had been a guardian and a sort of father figure to her, unlike Oz...

"... You sure you're okay?" His expression softened, showing his worry.

She nodded "I'm okay, Qrow... It was..."

"I get Sanctuary wasn't pleasant, but... You could've just talked to Oz or to me."

Amber scowled "Do you think he'd have listened? Look at where his wishes nearly got us, Qrow..." And she frowned, dismayed "Had I not been rescued, I would've..."

"Don't start with that. We owe Geist help to find his friends, but right now? Right now we need to get somewhere safe in case those three regrouped and are coming back... Geist?" The man turned his gaze back to Geist. He froze for a moment, seeing a lilac flame escaping the sides of his eyes as the boy pooled his power into his hands. The veins in his temples pulsed a deep lilac, his armor simmering with the energy.

The boy was focused. His speech seemed to suffer at this focused a use of his powers, as he paused between words. He also breathed more heavily, clearly working to find them, but... "I'm... Trying to feel them. But... I can't... I can't actually find them... They aren't nearby, at least, not close enough for me." He gritted his teeth, pooling more power into his Mind's Eye. Yet, even in the far distance, only echoes of darkness were felt instead of the bright, powerful beacons that were his comrades.

The veteran Hunter in front of them hummed "You guys have that kind of bond that you can just feel each-other?" in an almost solemn, respectful tone.

"Mhm..." The boy nodded. With a sigh, he closed his eyes as his power faded, his armor returning to impassive mode. He looked to them, sadness in his gaze and voice as he spoke "Sadly, nothing..." before sighing as he saw the signs of a village dead ahead. He shook his head, then breathed in deep and offered "Very well, let's find a shelter for Amber to recuperate... And so I may ask my questions to you."

"... Seems only fair to me, kid. Let's go. Karst Village's right ahead and we can rest up while I figure out what Ozpin wants to do with them. You don't mind staying at an inn for a couple weeks, do you?" Qrow smirked, jerking a thumb toward the civilian structures ahead... A fair share of questions to be asked and enough time to ask them. The search for his friends, Geist knew, could probably be aided by these people. By Qrow and Amber and their employer... Ozpin.

_... And in **Atlas**, a young girl once again entered her father's laboratory._

"Hello, papa! General Ironwood is here to see you about the Vytal festival... He says it is of utmost importance."


	4. The Drop Part 3:The Shine of a Beacon

Operational data couldn't have predicted this outcome, even if the analysts tried. The young man had asked two simple questions. Where was he and who Amber was exactly to those people that attacked her. The former was answered quite simply. He was within the borders of one of the four major nations, on the planet of Remnant, the homeworld of mankind. He hadn't dared contradict them regarding that, as it was clear he was no longer home. It should've been clear the moment he faced people with this 'Aura'. Unasked and, while Qrow had gone to get himself "and the kids", as he put it, something to drink, Amber had happily explained to him the concept of Aura.

An energy of the soul that can manifest itself as a shield against wounds and heal minor ones. If there was something XCOM could have used, it would've been personal soul shielding. Rubbing his eyes, the boy looked to the now-returning Qrow, who had the barmaid following him over with a tray of drinks. She seemed a bit concerned, looking at Geist, but seemingly elected to ignore the obvious question of 'what the hell are you wearing and why does it look like purple muscles' and went with just giving them the drinks. He could smell Qrow's alcoholic drink and tell it apart... Vodka. It paid to be part of Strike-1.

In his own glass, though, was clearly some form of soft-drink resembling Cola. In color and fizz alike, he noted. He picked up the glass, took a sip and placed it back on the table, before leaning toward Qrow and Amber and asking "So... What now? I'm not one for impatience, but I figure we should know what to do next... What did your boss say, Qrow? Where should we head?"

"Oz said you can come with us to Beacon, for safety's sake. I think he wants to thank you in person for saving Amber." Qrow explained, sitting himself down beside Amber and playing with his glass of alcohol. The soldier-boy, meanwhile, looked to Amber, who simply shrugged at him. He figured it was going to take a while to get to 'Beacon', since he doubted this 'Oz' would want to risk anything following them. So, he asked his next question while they drank their refreshments.

"No offense to her, but why is she so important?" His lilac gaze was piercing as it locked onto a surprised Amber. The girl was easy on the eyes and quite beautiful, by many standards, including her exotic complexion and the color of her eyes. Yet even so, he could feel the danger of the girl. Right off the bat, when three people tried to subdue her, Geist had his mind set that she must've been more than she seemed.

Qrow and Amber exchanged glances. Her Guardian spoke instead of her, a calm, collected look in his eyes, despite the ever-growing presence of alcohol in his system. He spoke his question clearly "... You ever hear the tale of the Maidens?"

"I'm not from here, remember?" Geist's answer was also clear-cut. He took another sip of his sweet drink, feeling the fizz prickle at the back of his throat... He'd missed sodas.

"Right, right." Qrow waved that small detail off. It was recently revealed, after all. "Well, I'll put it short and sweet to you, kid. Amber has magic. She is the Fall Maiden, one of the four season-based girls who wield magical powers and are meant to be defenders of the people. That concise enough?" He smirked, then downed half his glass in one swig.

The boy squinted, surprised at the news. "... Yes..." And he cocked his head to Amber, asking "So, you can do magic."

"Yes." She proclaimed proudly, leaning onto the table with a smirk.

"Mind showing me?"

"Heh, maybe when we aren't in an enclosed space..." Amber blushed, turning to ask. "What about your powers, though? They pretty much stripped the Aura off of my assailants."

"My psionics, you mean. It's a long-winded scientific explanation that I'm neither at liberty, nor properly able to give because I'm not versed enough in its intricacies. The long and short of it is, the amplifiers on my armor allow me to conjure abilities that may otherwise be impossible to wield by normal human standards... Somewhat like your Aura, except in this case, it isn't the Soul doing the work as much as it is my mind." He explained as concisely as he could.

Qrow shot him a look of disbelief. "Wait... So, mind powers... Telekinesis and the likes?"

"Yes." Geist returned.

"That's in the realm of Sci-Fi, kid... No way in hell I'll believe that is what did in the Aura those three had." His's voice was filled with Skepticism. He shook his head, then chuckled as he saw Geist set his glass down. The young man's eyes started to burn a bright lilac. His armor set itself alight again with the energy that coursed from his spine-mounted amps to his hands, through the muscular striations of the armor and into his palms.

... And as if by magic, his glass started to shake and shudder, the glass inside hitting the sides as it slowly was lifted off the table. The boy's eyes were focused on the item as he struggled to raise it half a foot above the table. That struggle, that little fight, however, was enough for both Qrow and Amber to have to pick their jaws up and off the floor. He slowly set the glass back down onto the table, before leaning forward and wincing as his head started to hurt. He rubbed his temples, picking up the glass thereafter and taking chugging two-thirds of its remaining contents down, sans ice cubes.

"Oh, shit..." Qrow's eyes were as wide as saucers as he looked at the energy dissipating off the Vortex Armor... Yes, to people like them, he presumed it was... Odd...

"Convinced?" He murmured, grunting in pain as he tried to blink away the pain. Both him and Amber gave approving nods, with the latter smiling broadly, her cheeks a healthy tint of red. Geist knew he was supposed to be the Volunteer. He knew he was meant to have the most Psionic power out of all of his XCOM Psi-Corps peers, but... Some times, he realized how limited some of his powers truly were. He was lucky he hadn't engaged in a mental spar with the Uber Ethereal, lest his own brain be turned to mush instead of the Ethereal's...

"Right." Qrow murmured. "I got us 3 rooms with single beds and next to one-another." And they looked outside as the sun finally began to set behind the clouds. The middle-aged drinker slid Geist his key, then said "Go catch some shuteye. We're gonna be leaving for Beacon as soon as possible... Though we're on the other side of the continent and it's gonna take a few weeks."

"Thank you..." The boy winced, standing up with the key in hand. "I will go try and sleep."

* * *

**_Vacuo Desert_**

"So... You're soldiers that more than likely can't be from anywhere Vacuo and are armed with energy weapons... And you're pretty much stuck with me." Evelyn mused as she, Gillian and Annette sat themselves down in the back of one of the covered half-track trucks, while Dunstan and Maria took the one directly behind them. The vehicle's engine roared to life and the convoy once again moved forth through the harsh, unwelcoming Vacuoan desert.

"Yes?" The two girls gave confused nods to the pink-wearing girl with bunny years ahead of them.

"That's awesome!" She gave them a toothy grin as she spoke "You know, I rarely get to meet new people who wanna talk nowadays. Always running escort for the folks in Vacuo gets a bit tedious after a while, so it's nice to run into something that breaks the monotony. Annette and Gillian, right?" and she arranged her tophat. Surprisingly enough, she didn't even touch the ear, but it... Twitched?

"Yep." Gill gave a nod, smiling and unsure if to bring up the ear or... Not.

"_Oui."_ Annette responded, similar thoughts coursing through her mind about Evelyn's rabbit ear.

"Heh. You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say that's some alien language you're speaking, Annette." The Mad Hatter smirked, leaning on her two hands and looking at the two girls. To Evelyn, seeing exactly what was tantamount to aliens must've still been taking some getting used to, because so far, no questions came their way regarding their true place of origin.

Annette hummed, looking toward the other people aboard the half-track/truck combination, to see youngsters and elders alike, sat together, grandparents and grandchildren or teachers and students. Annette didn't pry, but instead turned to answer Evelyn's unasked question, offering her awkward response "... It could actually be to the people of Remnant, Evelyn."

"Oh? What's it called?" The bunny girl's brows quirked up in curiosity.

"French. It's the mother tongue of my nation." Annette responded, pride behind her words as she recalled the beauty of her home country. Marseilles, Paris, Dijon... She missed her home dearly and hoped she would see it again when the time was right. Alas, she and Gillian continued their chat. Annette looked to the other truck and out toward the far distant dunes as the scorching sun burned.

"Oh... So that's what those colors on your backs are? Your countries?"

"The flags thereof, yes." Gillian responded, giving a nod to Evelyn.

"... Holy shit, you're actually aliens." Evelyn's eyes went wider than before. It was incredible... Actual non-Remnantian humans alive, well and armed to the teeth. She had indeed seen things she wasn't supposed to. And she definitely believed said things now. What little glimpses of them she caught. She hummed, looking at Gillian as the empath gave their new friend a simple smile.

"Mmmyup. Remnant ahoy, ET is here." The Italian operative quipped, checking over her plasma rifle. Ethereal tech was nice to have at your fingertips, she thought to herself while Annette shot her a glance.

"Gillian, please, don't even joke right now about aliens. Evelyn?" Annette requested, garnering a chuckle out of Gill. Evelyn managed to let out a slight giggle too, despite still processing the events unfolding before her. The people aboard, meanwhile, exchanged small-talk, with two of the kids seemingly befriending each-other over their trip toward where the girls assumed Vacuo was.

Evelyn raised her head, letting out a simple hum "Mm?"

"You wouldn't happen to have seen a boy around the place, right?" The French Major asked, her eyes filling with hope as she leaned forward, staring right into Evelyn's purple, double-iris eyes.

Evelyn snorted, absentmindedly adding "I've seen plenty of boys, Annette. I need more specific details."

"Right... He has grey hair and purple eyes of a matching color to the armor he wears. Fairly similar to my own armor, to be exact." Annette's hope didn't fade for a second as she asked that and Evelyn noticed it. It felt awful to be the one to deliver the bad news to the Frenchwoman. Yet, she was the one picked for the target.

"Ah... Darn, sorry Annette, no, I haven't seen him. He a friend?" The girl sighed, looking as the French girl looked slightly dismayed at the floor of the transport.

"No problem. And yes, he's one of our comrades. I'll also take it then you haven't seen the others either."

"You're the first four of your kind I met here in Vacuo, so nope... Do introduce me to the guy if we do find him along the way, m'kay?" She smirked, offering Annette a reason to smile. To be fair, Annette figured he'd enjoy the bunny girl vibe Evelyn gave off, so she'd leave herself with that thought in mind.

"Hehehe... Sure thing..." The girl smiled, then paused as they heard a ringtone. She answered the phone, then said "Go for Evie Damerot! Oh, s... Hey, Oz. Long time no see, old man, how've ya been! Me? I'm decent, where ya left me over in Vacuo to help the headmistress of Shade... Yeah, I'm with a Nomad convoy heading for Vacuo itself right now. Oh, want me to grab an Airship toward Vale...? Not an Airship, but a boat could work if that storm's passin' over Vale. Alright, alright, Oz, but you do know I won't be arriving until the end of your first semester, right? Right... Right, gotcha. Listen, I got a group of four people over here that are armed and armored to the teeth and they _defo _ain't Atlas. A'ight, roger. I'll ask them..."

Evelyn looked to the two confused Operatives and asked "Would you and your two friends be comfy with hanging around Shade? I kinda gotta hit the road immediately after I drop ya off, since Headmaster Oz is asking for me back in Vale."

"Take it that's also a country here, like Vacuo?" Annette mused.

Evelyn nodded, smiling. "Yeah. And I know the Headmaster since we work together."

"... I guess a little rest would be no problem." Annette shrugged. "And it would give us an opportunity to look for the others."

"How many of ya can be out there per total?"

"... Around 11 of us, with the kid I described to you." Was Annette's response. Evelyn nodded, then smiled and turned back to her chat with Oz. A moment later, after some light babble between the two, Evelyn hung up and nodded. Annette looked to Gillian, then tapped her com device and said "Spades, Countess, we'll be hanging around the city we're heading toward for a bit. Evelyn says she has some business she needs to attend to in another country. I want you two to be ready to get us intel on whoever and whatever could help us locate the rest of our team."

"_Gotcha." _Dunstan responded calmly.

"_Heard ya loud and clear, Annette." _Maria followed. "_We'll have eyes and ears around every corner of this desert if we can help it." _

Annette could only smile at the Covert Operative's eagerness to return to her line of work. She nodded "Roger. Witchy, out." and looked to Evelyn, before saying "Hope the headmistress of this 'Shade Academy' is friendly to newcomers."

"She'll treat ya like family." Evelyn smirked "Damerot Guarantee."

"Do we get money back if it isn't the case?" Gillian quipped and Evelyn snorted

"Sure, sure... Now, we've got about another hour's worth before we reach Shade. You should probably get some shuteye... Oh, also, you can get all you need from the Headmistress, but it's kinda favors for favors and the 'strong survive' mentality here in Vacuo." Evelyn warned them, leaning back. Annette and Gill nodded. Dunstan, Maria and them were more than prepared for anything this would would throw at them.

* * *

**_Near Mistral._**

"And that's the gist of it... You guys really aren't from Remnant, are you?"

Jack had gone through a quick, more informative tutorial on the planet of Remnant and where they were in regards to the nearest city. She was surprised to find out that these soldiers, these 'excomm' troopers, lacked information regarding everything under the sun here on Remnant. Their names were a dead giveaway that they weren't the run-of-the-mill people of Remnant and their equipment set them apart from even Atlas in regards to technological levels. Energy weapons, heavy alloy armors and... Whatever the hell that Mech was...

She could swear she also recognized the material the plating was made out of. It was too eerily familiar to her, both in shine and in chrome coloring. She almost had a feeling these people had gone through hell and a handbasket for the tech meant to build what they wielded right now. Oh, well, devil's toys and his sword, right? She didn't think she'd ever meet aliens, alas...

Van Doorn was their lead officer, clearly. He seemed to have caught onto everything. Zhang, meanwhile, only seemed slightly confused, if perhaps because of his head wound. Armin? Well, Jack couldn't see his face behind that helmet of his, but she was sure he caught onto things too. No questions, no nothing, it was clear that these men were more at ease now. She gazed back toward the burned patches of forest and the still-dissolving Grimm bodies, before her Scroll's ringtone took her out of her musings. Yeah, this excomm of theirs clearly was something...

Taking the phone out of the pocket of her jeans, she raised a brow.

"Huh..." She murmured, then answered it "Hello, Headmaster. Yes, I'm here, I just had to deviate off the beaten path for a few hours because of some new folks I met. You need me back at Beacon? Yeah, I can probably reach the Emerald Forest on foot, but the trek's gonna take a while. Probably next semester... Alright, prof, I got it. I'll be dropping of my new guests... How'd you know about them being in heavy armor and carrying...? You know, nevermind... So a couple months is the approximate time frame... Heh. Got it, I'll be there. Okay. Jack out..."

She turned to Van Doorn after shutting off her phone, then said "You guys need a place to stay? Mistral ain't too far a walk from here and professor Lionheart will probably be open to letting you stay there for the time being, while you get everything sorted and... You're searching for others, no?"

Van Doorn nodded "Yeah... We were supposed to be 11 per total."

"Figures..." Sighed Jack. "Alright. I'll just call prof Lionheart on the way. He'll probably be able to fill you all in much better than I can and I don't want to stick to the middle of a Grimm-infested forest, no matter how many of them we wasted."

"Seems good to me, boss." Shaojie leaned his rifle on his shoulder.

"Mm... Armin? Can you walk that far?"

"_It'll be no problem, Field Commander." _The MEC made a mock robotic voice as he answered, causing Jack to snort. He looked to her and that immediately quieted her down... She swallowed empty, then showed the team to follow her back to the main road. To Jack, the image of a man inside that suit brought thoughts of Atlas from the get-go, because of the angular, shining armor, but the pattern was clearly non-regulation. The crosses, black and white and the likes didn't feel Atlesian Military at all...

Heh, she dreaded for their foes if this was their gear...

* * *

**_Sininen Tie Village. Anima_**

Despite her best efforts, Vivienne could not, for the life of her, get the people around them to calm down. The party that ensued as night fell over the village in the southernmost part of this strange continent and world was, for her, a surprise and a feat of wonder. That people would accept newcomers with armament as powerful as theirs so quickly and not out of fear put into perspective how these people viewed their allies.

She watched as Aala sat by the fire, having been brought copious amounts of alcohol and an accordion. The strident noises echoing from the area weren't just because of the aforementioned musical instrument, but instead, because of Aala's singing, in her homeland's language. She had introduced Vivienne to the Finnish Polka about midway through their friendship's tenure in XCOM, when Aala had barely gotten the rank of Corporal-and her nickname, courtesy of Maria-down.

She heard the tap-tap-tap of footsteps to her left, turning her head only to be met by three younger girls, all of whom couldn't have been any older than 10. All 3 also carried different foods, like apples, cooked meats from the grills that were running through the town. The leading girl, one wearing blue and white as part of her color palette, extended the scarlet apple toward the Swiss operative, who graciously accepted the gift with a smile and a thanks...

The girls waved to Vivienne after handing her the rest of the spoils, before walking off to join the other kids in the party. Sadly, before Viv could fall back on her own thoughts and try to recollect the events of today, the thundering steps of their MECT friend came from behind her, shaking the very ground she stood on. The giggling of younger children permeated their surroundings thereafter as Viv turned to look to Vee... She snorted.

Hanging off of Vee's metal appendages were 5 to 7-year-old children swinging, playing and laughing together. Some had animal traits that Vivienne had seen before, while helping them at least partially rebuild the town's square. She looked up to Vee, whose helmet was now off her head, then asked "Did they take that much of a liking to you, Vee?"

"Hey, if you saw a giant robot lady, would you not wanna play on the armored suit?" Vee smiled, apparently happy.

"Fair." Swiss lady shrugged, then turned back to Aala's singing, taking a bite out of the fresh apple given to her by the kids. She chewed on it as she chewed on her own thoughts, then said "Aala is drunk again..."

"I figured..." The MECT responded, chuckling. "Hey, Azur, easy." She said to one of the kids now climbing onto her back. The Swiss woman beside her sighed, continuing to eat from the apple as she reran through the events of today. From the battle aboard the Temple Ship, to the defense of Sininen Tie(Which was apparently Finnish for 'Blue Road'. A world of coincidences, huh?) and to now as Aala kicked into high gear, singing 'Ieva's Polka', as the song translated. She was fast with both her fingers and her voice, singing with a healthy flush on her face and not even once tripping up and missing one lyric. The woman had lungs, Vivienne had to give her that.

The MEC watched a kid on her arm dangling like he was hanging onto monkey bars, then asked Viv "So... You're squad lead for us, Viv. Any idea what we do now?"

The woman took another bite of the apple, letting the sweetness make its presence known to her tastebuds, before voicing "We try and find the others. I'll probably ask around for bigger settlements that we can head to tomorrow."

"Until then, I guess we enjoy the party?" The MEC asked.

Viv nodded "Sure? I am... Not much of a party girl."

Vee chuckled "Well... That's bound to change..." And she tilted her head forth, toward a group of men and women alike, eyeing the 'Squad Leader'. Vivienne's brow quirked up and, before she realized Aala had stopped singing, she felt a hand grab her by the wrist. Vee's giggling didn't escape Vivienne's ears as she now noticed Aala was dragging her by the hand toward the dance floor, an inebriated smile on her face. The Accordion still played the sweet tunes of Ieva's Polka.

The Swiss woman blinked twice "Aala?"

"Yesh, Viv?" The drunken Finn asked, looking to her friend and... Somehow still standing on her own two feet and dragging the Swiss operative along.

"... What are you doing?" The question was simple.

The answer was also simple. And not what Vivienne had expected today. "Teaching you how to dansh the Ivn Plka..."

"Aala... You are-"

"Ye, ye, I know, now c'mon. I made a bet I can do thish drunk with shome..." She hiccuped "Shome lad... 'N he owes me money if I do thish..." and, despite the glare from her SL, Aala actually managed to pull her into a dance. The Swiss woman dared not ask what the hell that bet entailed for fear that Vee, not her, would lose would cool and try to deck Aala. And decking a drunken operative with the The Fuck Fist, as the MEC had taken to calling it, was not something Viv wanted on her conscience... Despite all appearances of drunkenness, though, Aala managed to dance the dance almost perfectly, Vivienne moving in-step with the Finnish drunkard that was her friend...

Vee giggled, meanwhile, then said "Oh, this is too hilarious..." letting the night pass...

Tomorrow, finding a way to the others was the main objective, though.

Hangover or no hangover, Viv will make sure Aala marched double tomorrow, though. This kind of bet was... Stupid.

Thank goodness she was friends with a god-damned Finnish girl who could hold her alcohol... Or at least be drunk and able to move like usual.


End file.
